Pet Obesity and a Certain Amount of Weirdness

When humans raise children a lot of factors enter the equation. Raising a pet is kind of a stripped-down version of child-rearing, with fewer complications, and more potential for the parent to control the situation. This may be why irregularities and aberrations are more obvious in pet-parents. When a human lives alone in an apartment with an obese dog that never goes out, it is obvious where the responsibility lies.

When Vincent’s human died, the 8-year-old dachshund was turned over to K-9 Angels Rescue in Houston, Texas. Little seems to be known about the former pet owner, but since Vincent also has serious periodontal disease it was probably someone disabled and/or impoverished, without the means to provide either exercise or medical care for the companion animal.

At his original BMI, he was at a severe risk for arthritis, diabetes, reduced mobility, increased physical injury that can lead to paralysis of the hind legs, cancer, respiratory disease, kidney disease, pancreatic and shortened life expectancy.

The picture here on our page is not Vincent, but the celebrity dachshund can be seen at SeattlePI.com. In their photo, poor Vincent is lying on his side, his body grotesquely swollen into a rectangular shape, with fat trying to burst through the straining skin. He had a BMI of 62.7 and weighed 36 (or 38 or 40, depending on the source) pounds. Any of those original numbers would be more than twice his ideal weight, calculated at 16.89 pounds.

With the help of the vet and the foster mom who later adopted him Vincent made a full recovery. The point here is that pets can become morbidly obese, and they can also recover if given the opportunity for a new lease on life.

Into the dark

Co-dependency takes many forms. It can manifest as an inability to say no, through fear of the loss of affection. We mentioned a pet-owner who found entertainment in overfeeding a dog because of the amusing way its eyes popped out in anticipation of a treat.

A human like this might also be obese, and enjoy bringing the pet into the obesity club just for the camaraderie. Or it could be the opposite. A human who absolutely must stay slim (a TV newsreader for instance) might keep a pet as an eating surrogate, fondly indulged with treats.

Dr. Pretlow says:

I believe that parental co-dependence is likely an important factor in childhood obesity development and thus prevention and treatment.

The same holds for pets, as Dr. Pretlow and Dr. Ronald J. Corbee suggest in their British Journal of Nutritionarticle, “Similarities between obesity in pets and children: the addiction model.” In its most extreme form, co-dependency is like emotional vampirism, with one partner being nourished by the life essence of the other.

In the weird psychological kink “Munchausen by proxy” (or MBP), the parent causes illness in the child or pet in order to reap attention, gratitude, admiration, the self-aggrandizement of being perceived as a devoted caregiver, and the thrill of feeling like a professional colleague when working with medical personnel. The afflicted human needs so desperately to be needed that causing disease in an alleged loved one seems like a viable choice.

In human medicine, MBP is classified as a form of abuse and diagnosed in 2 ways: by hospitalizing the child and using hidden cameras to observe parental interaction, or observing the recovery of the child when taken away from the parent. However, little is know about the psychodynamics of the condition, because those affected often vehemently deny any accusation, even when presented with proof. Additionally, most also resist or refuse any therapy.

The literature includes many similar observations, so pet-parents are definitely not immune to this strange disorder.

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About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade. You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow's 2017 Workshop on Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model